Rainbow Lights
by Annie Hawkclaw
Summary: Post GOTG Volume 2: five times the Guardians experienced strange, inexplicable phenomena by themselves, and one time they did so together. In which everyone is utterly confused except for Mantis, who knows quite a bit about glowing light energy. SEQUEL CHAPTER now up! In which Rocket becomes a local hero and Peter deals with grief from the past.
1. Swirling Colors

1\. The first time it happened, not a soul in all of existence noticed. It was late-if time in space held any meaning-and one Peter Quill was fast asleep when a deep, dark blue light briefly flashed into being and just as quickly disappeared above his head. A few other momentary flashes followed, none quite as strong on the first.

Quill rolled over in his bed, started drooling, and the lights stopped appearing.

2\. The second time was in the heat of battle. The Guardians found themselves back in another life or death situation just weeks after they had saved the galaxy once again. Peter figured that there really was no rest for the wicked. Gamora picked up her sword once again with no complaints. Drax laughed as he leapt into battle once again.  
Rocket was in the background, rigging up various bombs to divert the giant rainbow (no, yes, most definitely rainbow) space lizards that were rampaging towards a small civilization. As he worked quickly with two ears turned towards the battle going on behind him, suddenly, a bright red light-no, more like a ball of energy- flashed into existence near his hand. Rocket jumped nearly a foot in the air in surprise, and the light was gone in an instance. He looked down at his paws, confused, but then quickly got back to work when he heard Gamora's signal to detonate the first set of bombs.

He didn't remember the light until much, much later.

3\. Immediately after the battle, Drax was sitting on the carcass of one of the giant rainbow lizards. Quill and Rocket had gone back to get the ship, while Gamora was off doing whatever Gamora did when she went off by herself. Drax smiled at his surrounding handiwork, when suddenly, a bright purple light began to swirl around his finger tips. He watched it in fascination for a few seconds, let it dance around like tiny little streams of water, before it faded away.

Drax never mentioned the incident to anyone, but sometimes he would think of that beautiful light. It felt... nice.

4\. Several days later, Gamora too saw a light: a bright stream of green-no, turquoise-energy flowing around her foot. It was late, and she had just settled down to clean her sword and enjoy a little quiet when it began, and just as quickly, ended. In surprise, she didn't yell, but did drop her sword, allowing it to clatter to the ground.

Quill heard the noise and came in to ask her what she saw, but she brushed him away. It was probably nothing, anyhow.

5\. The fifth time, Peter noticed the light. A deep, dark blue, like the color of the sky right before the sun has completely set and the stars have taken over. He was in the kitchen of the newly rebuilt Milano when it suddenly appeared, and he reached out towards it, captivated.

Mantis walked into the room and dropped the mug she had been carrying. At the sound of the crash, the other Guardians quickly followed. (Luckily enough for all of them, Rocket had the sense to not drop the bomb he had been working on).

This time, the light stayed, and Peter hypnotically watched it swirl around him. As the other Guardians approached, though, it began to take on many hues- reds and purples and blues and greens, all together. Mantis approached the light cautiously, reaching out to touch it.

This broke Peter's concentration, and all of a sudden he stepped back horrified. "It's... it's Ego's light". Everyone instinctively took a step back. "He must have figured out a way to escape, a way to travel with me- I don't know how, he must have-"

Mantis cut him off. She had felt the light and knew instantly what it contained. "There is no trace of him in this light. It's similar... but completely different. No sorrow, no greed, no need to rule and conquer. Just... simple companionship. Love. This isn't Ego's light, Peter Quill, this is your own."

Peter looked shocked. "I thought all of that was gone when we destroyed my-Ego?"

Mantis nodded. "All of his light, yes, and your access to it. But that doesn't change who you are, or what you were born as. You've always had a light of your own"-she reached out to feel it again-"you just haven't realized until now".

Peter looked shell shocked. "How? I thought it was all gone. I'm... still immortal?"

Mantis, however, looked surprised once again. "Oh... it's not just yours, though. It may have all came from you, originally, but part of it exists in at least three others... your other friends, I assume...". She walked around and touched each of them individually. Gamora didn't even protest this time, mostly out of confusion. "Each of you now contains some of this light. I don't understand how, but each of you has essentially gained some of this light... so I guess that makes you all immortal? There's no way to no for sure, but from what I can sense... yes, it must be true."

Not a single sound could be heard-until Groot walked in, yawning, haven been awakened by all the noise. Rocket absentmindedly patted him as he climbed onto his back.

Mantis shook her head. "This... this is impossible, though! To transfer light into another would take unimaginable power, and such a thing would be incredibly rare to come across- I don't even think Ego could have done it, otherwise he would have."

Realization dawned in Gamora's eyes first. "Could... an infinity stone produce such an effect?"

+1. The Guardians stood, hand in hand, like they had that fateful day a long time ago. Groot stood on Mantis's shoulder, perhaps feeling confusion or concern for his friends. Rocket and Quill both shot him a calming look, each without noticing the other had done the same. Then they all closed their eyes and concentrated. Light of all colors, energy of all colors, began to gather in their fingertips, and then their hands (and paws), and then swirl around them, before finally pooling together in a ball on the floor and taking a form. A newly created object, a shiny rectangular black box, that only Peter found suspiciously familiar. They let go of each others hands and took a step forward. Groot raced forward to see what the new thing was. He bumped it once, and then twice, and a third time out of curiosity. This third time sound-no, music- blared from the device.

Tears nearly came to Peter's eyes when he heard "Starman" began to play.

It only took Groot a second to recover before he was dancing without a care in the world. Once recovered, Peter joined in, dragging in Gamora without much resistance. Mantis tentatively jumped in soon after, and Rocket didn't even sigh as he got up to join. Even Drax found himself tapping his foot along.

 _There's a starman waiting in the sky  
He'd like to come and meet us  
But he thinks he'd blow our minds  
There's a starman waiting in the sky  
He's told us not to blow it  
Cause he knows it's all worthwhile_

And, they were home.

+2 The crew had finally settled down, after hours of debating about the newly discovered parts of themselves, and after Peter had spent nearly twenty minutes trying to explain David Bowie to them.

One by one, they got back to their regular routines, their hearts slightly lighter knowing that they weren't going to lose each other any time soon. Only Peter had one last concern, which he approached Mantis about. "What about Groot?", he asked, watching Rocket and Groot from afar tinker with some strange machine. "He wasn't with us when we held the stone. He's not... immortal, I guess."

Mantis, though, looked confused. "What makes you think this tree creature isn't immortal? Did he not regenerate from basically nothing, as I have been told he did? Does he not possess great power?"

Peter looked stunned at the revelation. Mantis looked back at the pair who were working on something destructive, whatever it was.

"He may not look it, but he posesses emotions beyond his years. Far, far beyond his years." Mantis gave him a knowing smile. "I wouldn't be surprised if Rocket already knew."

For some reason, Peter could tell that he did, in fact, already know.


	2. Timeless Flight

_NOTES:_ Thank you so much for the massive support you all gave the first chapter! I originally intended to just write a one-shot, but the idea stuck with me even after a month, so here is the much anticipated sequel chapter. It even includes four "after credits" scenes!

A lot of people informed me of a mistake I might have made in the previous chapter-while the four Guardians were holding the infinity stone at the end of the first movie, I was informed that Rocket was holding onto a twig of Groot. I went back to rewatch the scene and couldn't quite tell from the camera angles (maybe my eyes are just bad). Just assume that if Rocket was holding a piece of Groot, Groot was too weak at the time to permanently hold on to any of Peter's light, since he was literally just a twig.

...

 _It's lonely out in space_

 _On such a timeless flight_

Peter sat on the edge of the Milano, staring up into the stars and lost deep in thought. Gamora noticed this from afar, finding it a seemingly odd behavior after their recent victory. The rest of the crew was down at the party, where Rocket was being celebrated as the local hero. A long night of feasting and music had been promised and was sure to follow, but Gamora had needed to step away from it all for a second, especially when she noticed Peter's absence between the serving of the third main course and the first desert. Gamora was usually not one for indulgence, but these beings sure knew how to cook, and her stomach needed a well deserved break.

Nimbly swinging up the side of the ship, she climbed up and sat beside Peter. "What is going on, Quill? I never thought you'd miss the chance to see Rocket embarrassed at being the center of attention. They brought out an honorary crown for him to wear, made completely out of flowers- the rarest type on this planet, they said. You should have seen his face."

He didn't stop looking up for a few seconds, but finally turned to acknowledge her. "I... I'm just working through a lot of stuff right now. I needed to be by myself for a while."

Gamora stood up. "Do you wish to be alone? I can go back to the feast."

Peter grabbed her as she turned away. "No... actually, I could use the company." He gave her a half-hearted smile.

Gamora sat beside him, and the two were silent once again. Eventually, Gamora took to conjuring some of the light and letting it swirl around her fingertips. She found it a good exercise in control and precision to let a thin strand of the turquoise light move in figure eights around her fingers. Every day, she found the light slightly easier to control. It had truly became a part of her now.

It had taken them a while to figure out what the colors of the light meant, and why each of them had a different color despite the fact that it all originally came from Peter. The light's color, as it turned out, depended on who it resided in, not who it originated from.

Ego's light, tinted a very bright light blue, never truly resided in another being. (The light blue looked safe and comforting from afar, but up close could strike as hard as lightning.) While he had given Peter 'permission' to use it, the light never took up residence inside him like Peter's light now did in Rocket, Drax, and herself.

Peter had, several weeks ago, given her his detailed theory about the meaning of the colors. Rocket's red light could be thought to represent his ferocious attitude and equally ferocious loyalty. Drax's purple could be for emotion and energy, both what he brought into battle and what he felt for his family. He could not, however, fathom a meaning behind Gamora's turquoise light. Everyone, Peter included, seemed surprised that her light wasn't... well, wasn't green. She knew Peter had been trying for weeks to assign meaning to it, and she secretly enjoyed his ongoing struggle. She very much liked her secrets.

As she let the light twist around her fingers and gazed at the distant party lights below them, Gamora thought about the long day they had endured together. It felt like forever ago, and she still hadn't adjusted to the planet's incredibly long days (Peter had said something about them being nearly twice as long as normal days on Terra). After finishing their last job, they had been halfway through the 33 jumps it took to get back to Xandar when their ship was suddenly halted by a massive tractor beam of some sort. Rocket, who had been piloting at the time, tried to steer them away, but they were soon pulled into the main landing port of the small civilization now known to them as Ranlothe. A civilization which, to their luck, had recently been taken over by a massive being from beyond the known universe.

This ferocious beast called themselves "Quintolof-a-lof", only referred to themselves in third person, and annoyingly ended all of their sentences in "-a-lof-a-lof". All of these factors were not a good combination for Rocket, or possibly too good of a combination, because he hadn't been able to keep a straight face the entire time they were captured. The moment the Milano touched down, massive chains looped around its wings, making the ship bend and screech and it was latched to the planet's surface. (This, it turns out, was due to Quintolof-a-lof's surprisingly powerful telekinetic abilities, which they learned about when the doors to their ship were forced open and more chains seemed to magically loop around their hands, feet, and paws.) They had then been brought before the giant beast, which presided over a hundred feet tall and nearly twice as wide. It reminded Gamora of a Deldrocks, a kind of ruthless monster that she had once seen ransack an entire solar system in a matter of weeks.

Peter, on the other hand, whispered to her that it reminded him of a cross between a rabbit and an armadillo. Gamora did not know what either of these beasts were, but they must be truly terrible and bloodthirsty creatures.

They were immediately brought before the beast, who proceeded to relate their own tale of deeds in a lumbering but surprisingly high-pitched voice. "Quintolof-a-lof arrived on this dust ball two turns of this planet ago, and now it is theirs forever-a-lof-a-lof! The locals cower in fear as Quintolof-a-lof sits in their square, feasting as Quintolof-a-lof pleases upon their livestock-a-lof-a-lof. This planet has been closed to all visitors forever more, and for breaking the law of Quintolof-a-lof, you trespassers must stay here and serve me for the rest of your miserable lives!-a-lof-a-lof."

That was the point when Rocket had absolutely lost it. Gamora sighed as he began to taunt the mad beast. He had tried so hard to hold it in, but she knew that it was only a matter of time before their friend's mouth got the better of him. "So we're your captives now, says the mighty"-he started to snicker-"Quintolof-a-lof-a-lof-a-lof?"

With that, he descended into a fit of high pitched laughter. "That's so much worse than Taserface, so much worse!" He howled again with laughter. "Let me guess, your home planet was named Stupidolof-a-lof?"

The beast, though, howled with anger. "Quintolof-a-lof shall not be insulted by a raccoon, of all creatures-a-lof-a-lof! Come before Quintolof-a-lof, tiny furry beast-a-lof-a-lof!"

Peter turned to Gamora and mouthed _What do we do?_ as the chains fell away from Rocket and he was forced into the center of the square before the beast. _Also, how does he know what a raccoon is?_

They had been getting better with using the light now, mainly to create or move objects, but didn't know anything about breaking or making objects disappear yet. It also wouldn't do them much good to create objects to throw at a telekinetic beast. Even if they could break the chains they were in, the giant monster could simply chain them back up again.

Gamora wasn't worried about what would happen to her; she had been in her share of tough situations like this. Plus, it turns out that now, with Peter's light in her, she was immortal. Probably, at least. She had yet to actually test this facet of her newly discovered abilities. Drax, Peter, and Rocket were all like her in this way too, but it wasn't them she was worried for. Groot had also been through worse, but she knew that seeing him chained up was painful for all of them. Plus, Mantis and Kraglin, who were also with them, were in much greater peril than the rest of the Guardians.

Mantis, who was chained to her right, was trying to look determined, but she could tell that the beast frightened her. She was doing the best she could to wear a brave face, though. Drax was still struggling against his chains, and Groot-now the size of a young child-watched in horror as Rocket reached the middle of the square. Kraglin was trying with desperation to get the arrow in his pocket to respond to his whistle, but either he was to panicked to control it or the beast was blocking his communication with it somehow.

Kraglin had, surprisingly, decided to stick with the Guardians for the time being rather than go off and join another group of Ravagers. He claimed that he had wanted the chance to do some "hero'ic stuff", but Gamora knew that he was still frightened by what had gone down with his last crew. Out of hundreds of them, he was the only one left after the mutiny and subsequent escape. Gamora suspected that for now, Kraglin wanted a less-likely-to-turn-around-and-kill-you crew more than he wanted to save the galaxy with them.

An idea struck her then, inspired by Kraglin's sharp arrow. At her fingertips, she conjured a small bolt of turquoise energy and started to quietly saw through the chains around her wrist. Realization dawned on Peter's face as he noticed what she was doing, and he copied her by also producing a small bolt of light energy and forming it into a hard, sharp shape.

Rocket, meanwhile, had continued with his taunting, to all of their dismay. _He's going to get himself killed out there_ , Gamora thought to herself, _and even if he is immortal, it's not going to be pretty._ Gamora continued sawing at her chains, not paying attention to Rocket's jests, when all of a sudden Quintolof-a-lof roared in anger and brought a giant paw down onto Rocket.

The impact created a small crater in the center of the town square. Gamora flinched, others in the crowd gasped, and a couple even screamed. Quintolof-a-lof lifted their paw away and let out a hearty roar to the sky. From her position chained and kneeling, Gamora couldn't see what had happened, but she knew that between the strength of the beast and the massive weight of its hard paws, the force behind that blow would not be survivable for even the strongest of mortal creatures the size of Rocket.

 _It's a good thing they weren't mortal_ , Gamora thought to herself as a red glow bloomed from within the crater. Any doubt left in her mind about their situation vanished, and she let out a huff of relief. Without the light, the day would have ended much more sadly.

Quintolof-a-lof paid no attention to the glowing light in the crater, despite the whispers coming from the captive crowd as the light grew stronger. The beast had turned their head to the sky and was ranting about their own strength and greatness, still in third person. Suddenly, a figure emerged from the crater, still surrounded by flowing tendrils of red energy. The crowd gasped. Rocket look really, really pissed off.

"No one... no one calls me a raccoon!" He yelled up at the beast towering a hundred feet above him, and then he took off into the air.

Gamora had seen Rocket practicing the trick for weeks now, trying to figure out how to direct the energy from his paws so that he could fly in a semi-controlled fashion. At their current strength, the rest of them had been too large and heavy to make any meaningful progress in getting off the ground, but Rocket had gotten good enough that he could launch himself to the top of tall trees and safely land. (His first few attempts had not gone as well, to Peter and Drax's utter amusement.) This time, though, fueled by his anger, he went much higher, directly to the creature's large mouth. Gamora saw Rocket pull something from his pocket and launch it into Quintolof-a-lof's mouth mid-rant. How did Rocket always have a bomb on him, no matter the situation? She feared it was one of the greatest questions of the universe that would forever go unanswered.

Quintolof-a-lof barely had time to show surprise before the bomb detonated. The rest was history, and the chains wrapped around their hands and feet dropped useless to the ground.

Hundreds of previously chained prisoners, locals and unlucky travelers alike, rubbed their wrists and they stood up. It wasn't long before the cheering started. Rocket landed gracefully in the center of the square, and all of the Guardians rushed up to meet him, followed by the rest of the crowd. They checked Rocket for wounds, but other than a few rapidly-healing scratches, he appeared perfectly healthy, and certainly not like he had just faced death and spit in its face. Groot enveloped Rocket in a hug and nearly knocked him over, while Drax slapped him on his back and Peter cheered. A large red being picked Rocket up and rested him on their shoulders (if they could, really, even be called shoulders) and proceeded to parade him around for all to see.

While most of the travelers who had been captured were eager to inform their loved ones that they were alright and leave the planet as soon as possible, the locals vowed to throw a massive celebration in Rocket's honor. Rocket, along with the Guardians, were given a place to rest for the remainder of the afternoon, and hours later were led back into the city square, which had been transformed into a festive pavilion with seating for hundreds. Thousands of red lights and lanterns hung from the surrounding buildings, and tables upon tables of the most delicious food any of them had ever seen waited for their approach.

None of them had any idea how the city had been able to pull together such a feast mere hours after they had been freed from captivity, but Gamora was able to shed some light on the situation by questioning one traveler who knew the planet well and had decided to stick around for the festivities. "They are one of the single most organized civilizations in the entire universe," she told Gamora. "It's been said that this entire city was built in three days, local time, after only a day of planning". She leaned in closer and whispered "It's been said that they can plan year-long parties during their lunch breaks." Another traveler told her that mere minutes after the beast was slain, dough had been thrown in the oven to prepare for the feast.

"Well, at least some beings finally appreciate me!" Was Rocket's reaction to all of this when Gamora told him what she had heard.

The festivities continued of hours. Courses upon courses of food were brought to their table. As soon as the music started, though, Groot catapulted into the center of the dance floor, drawing everyone's attention and adoration. Drax and Kraglin, who had become close friends as of late, feasted together and conversed loudly. Gamora watched Mantis, who was trying her best to interact with so many people at once (and wasn't doing half bad).

The town's council came to personally thank Rocket after the first main course had been served and told him that the feast would last until all three moons set. Later, one freed captive, who turned out to be a local artist, vowed to immediately start on a massive sculpture of Rocket flying, to be dedicated and displayed in the crater in the center of the city's square. The sculpture was to be done in redstone and red gems to match Rocket's red light.

Around this time, she noticed Peter get up and slide into the background. A few minutes later she followed him, knowing exactly where he planned on going.

Coming back to the present, Gamora once again focused her attention on the turquoise light swirling around her fingers. A small stream of it made lazy figure eights around her thumb and her index finger. She shifted its path, and it began to flow around her ring finger and pinky.

Suddenly, she realized what was bothering Peter. "It's the light, isn't it? Rocket showed us today that he really is immortal, and by extent, we all must be."

Peter nodded. "Before it was easier to deny it. We didn't know enough about the light to know if we were really were immortal, what splitting the light between four beings would do to a property like that. But now we know for sure, and there's no denying it anymore. It's been a part of us since that day with the stone, so long ago, even if we didn't know it. Which means... which means my light was with us on Ego's planet, too, when it was being destroyed..."

Gamora knew just what he was going to say next, and honestly, truly understood why Peter looked so worn out and tired.

"Which means that Yondu didn't have to die, didn't have to sacrifice himself for me. I would have been fine, and he would still be alive." Peter finally managed to get out.

"Listen, Quill. Peter." Gamora said turning towards him, "I understand that you still feel the loss, that you still feel the guilt. I could tell you that it wasn't your fault and that you have no need to feel guilty about any of this. I could tell you that it was that filthy planet that killed Yondu, not you. I could tell you that there was no way any of us could have known that you were still immortal. But none of that would make you feel any better, would it?"

Peter was silent for a moment, but then he slowly shook his head. "No... no it wouldn't."

"Here's what I can tell you," Gamora continued. "The pain and the loss? It's not going to go away for a long time, maybe never, so don't push it away. Embrace it and use it to your advantage, use it to push yourself to do great things, maybe even some bad things too. A bit of both, as you once said, because that's what Yondu would want you to do. Don't regret your actions; make them your own, because that's the only way that someday, somehow, you might just feel ok again."

Gamora stood up with that, and slipped down the side of the ship. She would leave Quill with his thoughts for a while, give him some time to mull over her words, and she would go back to the festival and pretend everything was fine, that everything was as great and lovely as the three giant moons that orbited the planet. Gamora knew that Peter would never be completely free from his past, that it would never be picture perfect, but perhaps it could be close someday. They did have all the time they needed to help him move on. More than enough time to save the galaxy again, do a bit of thieving along the way, and maybe even take a side trip to Terra. She had a feeling that even if Peter didn't know it, this would be something he would need to do someday.

As she headed back to the party, though, she figured that could wait for now. They did have all the time in the universe, after all. Gamora watched the lights in the square as she wound her way back down to the festival. As she was walking, though, the music coming from below suddenly stopped, and most of the crowd began to look around in confusion. Gamora put a hand to the sword at her side in case something bad was about to go down, but all that happened was she heard a "pssst" from behind a nearby boulder.

"Rocket, is that you?" Gamora quietly called out.

"Shhh, don't let them hear you!" He poked his head out from behind the rock. "Is Quill at the ship?"

Gamora silently nodded.

"Good, tell him to get the engine running, we're escaping from here now. I'm going to double back and make sure everyone else made it out of the party without being seen. Be ready to go in five minutes." Rocket glanced around nervously.

"What's going on with you? I thought you were happy that you were finally being appreciated?" Gamora smirked.

"You know how they said the party would go on until all three moons set? That won't happen for another forty-seven years, and they fully plan on making us stay the whole time! We may be immortal, but we're getting out of here while we still can."

"Don't you think you're overreacting to all of this... maybe, just a little?" Gamora asked him.

Suddenly, hundreds of armed guards entered the square, and there was even more shouting and confusion. Rocket looked horrified. "Those guys take their parties way, way too seriously," was all he could manage to say.

Gamora sighed. "Be there in five minutes, or we'll leave you behind to wear that flower crown for the next few decades."

In all the confusion, Rocket hadn't realized he was still wearing the flower crown. He called out behind her "You know what? I think I'm rather starting to like it!" before bounding off to find the rest of their group.

Gamora turned to run back to the Milano with a slight smile on her face. The food had been good, but the next ten minutes were sure to be the most interesting part of the night.

...

+1

Months passed, and their routines returned to normal. They landed on a small moon to trade supplies and refuel when Peter stumbled upon something quite amazing at a little stand in the marketplace. He immediately purchased one and brought it back to the Milano.

 _It seems that Rocket's story has traveled a lot further than we thought it would_ Peter thought to himself.

Upon returning to the ship, where Rocket was working on repairs, Peter couldn't get the stupid, silly grin off his face when he showed Rocket what he had found. It was a small stuffed toy meant for a child of a creature that very much resembled Rocket, a resemblance that was helped by the fact that the creature was holding a tiny plush bomb. The creature was dressed in an adorable little leather vest, and stitched into the back of it were the words "Rocket Raccoon, Hero of Ranlothe".

Rocket growled as Peter collapsed in fits of laughter. "How many times do I have to say it," Rocket yelled as he grabbed the toy from Peter and threw in into the grass below the ship, "I am NOT a raccoon!"

This, as was to be expected, only restarted Peter's now hysterical laughter, and Rocket grumpily stormed back inside the ship.

They left the moon a few hours later. Peter forgot about the toy completely until he saw it one night, sitting in the corner of a shelf above Rocket's bunk. Peter never brought it up, but Peter noticed that whenever Rocket glanced at the little stuffed toy, a small smile reached his face.

...

+2

Drax had been practicing making many things with his light.

He could easily form balls and streams of purple light energy, but shaping the light was a much more difficult task, especially on his own. (Creating more complicated objects was always easier with his friends, like when they made the music machine the first time they had tested their powers.) He started with small, basic objects, like a lump of solid metal or a rubber ball. After a week of practice, he could use his light to form the most rudimentary of weapons, and as more weeks passed, they became more and more ornate. Nowadays, he could easily form a new set of daggers with intricate, detailed work in a matter of minutes.

The one thing that still eluded him still, though, was how to create something more complicated. Drax could not yet create anything that was alive.

He knew it was possible. Ego had covered himself with and sustained billions of plant-based life forms, but Drax knew that was after millions of years of practice-and much more light to begin with. He only held a portion of Quill's light, and Quill was only half Celestial to begin with.

Still, Drax was not one to give up easily in any situation, so he practiced daily for months. Life was just so complicated. He began looking more carefully at the plants on the planets they visited. Sometimes, he would spend hours watching a bug crawl over a leaf, or a flower bloom and then wilt.

The first time Drax made a single blade of grass grow from nothing but his purple light, he yelled a battle cry of victory and celebrated for the remainder of the day. It didn't matter that the grass wilted and died a few days later, as Drax had achieved his goal. Still, though, there was much more work to be done. He continued his daily practice and kept watching nature with a curious eye.

Sometimes Quill or Rocket, or even Gamora, would ask Drax what he was up to, and he would "practicing for something important".

Months later, Groot awoke one morning to find a large pot of soil in his quarters, filled with a hundred different types of blooming flowers and other plants. The flowers were beautiful, their leaves green and soft, and they made Groot feel happy and safe and at home.

A note attached to the pot read "Thank You, Tree Creature".

It had been exactly a year since they had fought Ronan, exactly a year since they had held the infinity stone together. Exactly a year since Groot had sacrificed himself to save the rest of his friends.

Life was so complicated, and yet so beautiful.

...

+3

Rocket concentrated hard. He started with his paws together, and then drew them apart, leaving a thin strand of red light behind that took shape and became a red wire. Groot (who really couldn't be called Baby Groot anymore, since he was now larger than Rocket himself) sat nearby, transfixed.

"See this? This is the detonator wire. It connects here," Rocket showed Groot where it attached to the bomb he was assembling, "and here, to the main fuse switch."

With his light energy, Rocket could create all the parts needed to assemble a bomb from scratch, and had done so in under four minutes flat, but creating a working bomb directly from his light was a whole other matter. There were so many different parts that had to be precisely connected for it to work properly, and making a bomb that did not work properly was a very bad thing indeed.

"And this? What is this?" Rocket showed Groot another part he had made earlier, the detonator button that he had yet to attach to the bomb (for safety purposes, of course).

"I am Groot?" Groot tentatively answered.

"No, it's not the timer! Do you see numbers on it anywhere?" Rocket responded, frustrated.

Groot gave a tiny shrug in response. "I am Groot?"

Rocket buried his face into his paws. "Of course timers need numbers, I'm pretty sure that's their whole freaking purpose!"

"Hey, are you building bombs on my ship again?" Rocket heard Quill call out from the hallway. Rocket swept the pieces of the bomb behind himself as Quill entered the room.

"No, of course not! I was just... teaching Groot about bombs! Education at this age is very important, ya know."

"I am Groot" Groot added in. Peter crossed his arms.

"Shut up, you aren't helping here!" Rocket tried to whisper to him discreetly.

...

+4

It was late, and everyone on the ship was asleep, save two. Since the Milano wasn't parked, but set on a slow course through space, it was Peter's turn to man the controls in case of an emergency. Mostly, this meant popping in headphones, munching on food, and staring out at the stars, so he didn't complain about it too much.

Recently, Groot had taken to joining him on these long nights, and Peter didn't mind since they were both content to sit in silence for hours, lost in thought. Groot sat on his lap (although he wouldn't be able to for much longer, since he was growing at a rapid pace) and was fine with listening to whatever Peter was listening to.

 _It's lonely out in space_

 _On such a timeless flight_

He had already gone through all the music on his Zune. Some of the songs were completely new to him, but several he remembered from his childhood, including one of his personal favorites, "Rocket Man" by Elton John.

 _And I think it's gonna be a long long time_

 _'Till touch down brings me round again to find_

 _I'm not the man they think I am at home_

 _Oh no no no_

 _I'm a rocket man_

 _Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone_

What would the people on Earth think of him now? He left as a young child nearly three decades ago, and now he knew that he was only actually half Terran. To top that off, he had special abilities, was a seasoned space traveler, and had a crew (more like a family, and he knew it) made up of all different species from around the galaxy.

He was the Rocket Man now, but with one key difference. He wasn't alone. It may be a timeless flight, but he would never again be lonely. He had a crew (family) of caring friends (family) that he planned on spending the rest of his time with. Time that, as he knew now, would not end for a very, very long time.

 _And I think it's gonna be a long long time_

 _'Till touch down brings me round again to find_

 _I'm not the man they think I am at home_

When he was taken from Earth as a young child, he wanted nothing more than to go back. When he was exploring the galaxy as a young adult, he wanted nothing more than to never step foot on that planet, filled with painful memories, ever again.

But now? Now, he didn't know what he wanted.

 _Oh no no no_

 _I'm a rocket man_

 _Rocket man burning out his fuse up here alone_

But at least he wasn't alone.

For some reason, the idea of visiting Earth didn't fill him with unease at it once had. It would be nice to finally visit his mother's grave-after all that had gone down with Ego, he thought he might be ready for that. He could pick up some more tunes (the Zune he got was marked 2007, so who knows what technology had been developed on his home planet in the last several years). Best of all, he could finally show Rocket what a raccoon was.

But that was a decision for another day. For now, he just wanted to stare up at the stars with Groot.

"I am Groot?" the little tree whispered to him. Peter nodded and patted him on the head, sinking back into his thoughts once again. They watched the stars fly by, all the colors of the universe.

Space isn't black and empty, but full of light and color. Purple, blue, red, and turquoise. The best colors in all the galaxy.

...

 _END NOTES:_ If anyone is interested in expanding upon this universe, please PM me and ask. I have so little time to write, even in the summer, so I would be happy to let someone else pick up the story from here. Otherwise, I can't guarantee any more chapters for this work, although who knows what the future will bring!

Anyways, thanks all! The song featured in this story is, of course, "Rocket Man" by Elton John, another classic from the 1970s.


End file.
